May 10, 2014

Headlines, Even For Fortune 500 Client Assignments: From Clever to Shocking

Clever word play for headlines used to get us ghostwriters plenty of repeat business. Even establishment clients welcomed that provocative touch. That was then.

Now even the Fortune 500 and the ad/public relations which represent them want more. A few weeks ago I submitted possible headlines, along with a detailed outline, to a client. It was for a white paper on social media. The feedback was: Needs shocking headline. Rest okay. That, well, shocked me.

Probably it shouldn't have. After all we live in disruptive times. What wars used to do, now technology does.

The web is supposedly near dead. The 2016 presidential campaign will likely be won by the best mobile player. And smart law practices are doing deep dives on the liability issues associated with drones.

How do we capture in our resume and pitch letters that, you bet, we can shock? That's a fresh challenge in ghostwriters' positioning and packaging ourselves.